Sue Bird: WNBA Ls Popular Bee Players Are Black & Gay

Contents:

• CANDICE WIGGS SAYS 98 PERCENT OF WNBA IS GAY, CLAIMS SHE WAS BULLIED FOR BEG STRAIGHT
• IN 2022, NEARLY 30% OF ALL WNBA PLAYERS INTIFY AS GAY, LBIAN, TRANS OR QUEER
• WNBA’S SUE BIRD SAYS WOMEN’S BASKETBALL IS LS POPULAR THAN SOCCER BEE THEY’RE BLACK AND GAY
• HOMOPHOBIA IS ELEPHANT ROOM WOMEN’S BASKETBALL, GAY FAL FOUR ASSISTANT SAYS

CANDICE WIGGS SAYS 98 PERCENT OF WNBA IS GAY, CLAIMS SHE WAS BULLIED FOR BEG STRAIGHT

(AP)The WNBA has historilly been the most forward-thkg sports league Ameri when to gay rights. While the WNBA hasn’t always ma the LGBTQ muny proud wh how choos to promote and acmodate s gay players, ’s fair to say that they’ve ma meangful stris. In a new terview wh the San Diego Unn-Tribune, Wiggs says that “98 percent” of the WNBA is gay and that she would have played two more years if not for the “toxic” environment that affected her as a straight woman:“I wanted to play two more seasons of WNBA, but the experience didn’t lend self to my mental state, ” Wiggs said.

IN 2022, NEARLY 30% OF ALL WNBA PLAYERS INTIFY AS GAY, LBIAN, TRANS OR QUEER

“I would say 98 percent of the women the WNBA are gay women. So acrdg to the numbers, I intify as gay now— Deverex Peters (@MsPeters14) Febary 20, 2017It’s tough to asss all of Wiggs’s statements, bee she is ultimately scribg a personal experience that have not yet been refuted. That piece did not feature any explic reference to the prsure of beg straight a very gay ’s difficult to read this piece, then, whout wonrg exactly where Wiggs is g om.

Usg hyperbole to make a pot is not herently wrong, but dog to st a historilly margalized group (gay women, many of whom are also black) as a bullyg force rais ncerns. In the 2019 Women’s World Cup, there were more than 40 openly gay players and ach; however, there were no openly gay athlet or ach at the 2018 Men’s World Cup. The imbalance remas stark throughout profsnal team sports: The WNBA is led by multiple out stars, cludg Sue Bird and Elena Delle Donne, while Jason Colls has been the only openly gay active player NBA history.

Michael Sam was out to his teammat at the Universy of Missouri, and selected the 2014 NFL Draft (there were a rerd-settg eight openly gay or bi llege football players 2019). More recently, pro soccer player Coll Mart’s teammat forfeed a match after he was lled a gay slur, stg themselv a playoff berth. A uple of months ago, three amic rearchers studied 60 g-out stori published on Outsports, and found gay male athlet are almost universally accepted by their teammat — though they’re ually aaid to e out.

WNBA’S SUE BIRD SAYS WOMEN’S BASKETBALL IS LS POPULAR THAN SOCCER BEE THEY’RE BLACK AND GAY

Casual homophobia is still wispread throughout locker rooms and playg fields.

Candice Wiggs’ cisn to go public wh accatns that she’d been bullied the WNBA, partly bee she is heterosexual, was guaranteed to create a Wiggs said that “98% of the women the WNBA are gay women” and “people were liberately tryg to hurt me all of the time. WNBA legend and new Hall of Fame nomee Rebec Lobo got at the issue wh the 98% ment as played the media, referencg this ESPN piece that poted out that “there is no published data on the number of gay players the league.

HOMOPHOBIA IS ELEPHANT ROOM WOMEN’S BASKETBALL, GAY FAL FOUR ASSISTANT SAYS

”"The WNBA do not release the number of gay players the league. Wh that md, we wanted to look to answerg a somewhat ntroversial qutn that many have regardg the WNBA — that qutn beg what percentage of the players intify as gay or lbian?

And bee they’re not able to sexualize them and are threatened by strong, athletic, even mascule women, they react angrily out of disfort and fear and that manifts pretg homophobic, racist and misogynistic jok about WNBA players. What Percentage of WNBA Players Are Gay? Havg done some exhstive rearch on WNBA players that are public wh their sexualy, we piled a list of dozens of retired and active WNBA players that intify as lbian, gay, bisexual, trans and/or queer.